


The Namesake

by angelbot



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 15:25:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15799299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelbot/pseuds/angelbot
Summary: Destiny and Raven discuss what, if anything, to name their adopted child besides "Rogue."





	The Namesake

“Raven, darling, don’t you think we should give our child a name?”

Raven looks up at Irene briefly, and then quickly returns to her magazine. “She has a name. Rogue.”

“I meant something other than a code name,” she replies.  “You _know_ I meant something other than a codename.” 

Raven shrugs, flipping the page of the magazine to an article on Janet Van Dyne’s newest fashion line. “Why would she need one?” 

“She’s going to grow up and leave eventually,” Irene says. “Even...meet someone, you know. She’ll need a legal name for, well, marriage certificates and such.”

Raven’s nose crinkles. “How much detail of that can you see?”

“Enough to know that you won’t like him.”

“And how will you feel?”

“I’ll...be happy for her, of course.”

 Raven notices the hesitation in Irene’s voice, but decides not to pursue it. “Didn’t you say her powers would involve hurting whoever she touches? What kind of man –” 

Irene laughs. “A dedicated one.”

“Or perhaps this someone will be a masochist. I don’t want our daughter to be with a masochist.”

“See? You don’t like him already.”

Raven shrugs.

“Either way, we’re getting off topic, darling. A name.”

“Oh, come now, Irene. Our kind don’t need names. We’re outcasts from the beginning, shoved into paramilitary forces...or worse. Why delude our daughter into thinking she’ll ever be something other than a mutant?”

“You’re still calling me Irene, _Raven_.” 

Raven’s face shifts a bit in texture and color. It’s a bad habit, and she always does it when she knows she’s about to lose an argument. Which is often.

“We’ll name her after someone special, dear,” Irene says, coaxing the annoyance out of Raven. “Someone who supported us.”

“Anna Marie,” Raven says with her eyes closed.

“Anna Marie?”

“My...my sister,” Raven says, shifting uncomfortably. “My mother was Anna, so we called her Anna Marie. I didn’t see her after my powers manifested, but – I like to think she would have accepted me. She always knew I was different.”

“She knew you were a mutant?”

Raven shakes her head, a tear suddenly forming and rolling down her cheek. “She was older,” Raven chokes out after a bit. “She had a sense for things. I think she knew...well, at least that I was going to be looking at boys _and_ girls.”

Irene nods, and lifts up her hand in a familiar gesture. Raven repositions herself so that Irene can stroke her hand through her hair. It’s easier for comfort to come physically rather than verbally. 

“I’m glad you told me. Anna Marie is a fine name.” 

“Yes. I’m not sure I’ll remember my sister forever, she’s already fading...but if I keep the name on, perhaps a part of me will.”

“You’re a good mother, Raven.”

Raven chuckles. “I already abandoned one child. Who knows what will happen with this one?”

“Well, I do...vaguely, at least,” Irene says. “But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you love her, and you love me. Never let go of that love.”

Raven smiles softly. She feels secure, safe. And they both know it won’t last, but for now they will have arguments over their daughter’s upbringing, memories they've never shared with others, magazines, and each other.

 


End file.
